Where to spend the winter?

[dolmen]

I had a fairly long post written and it disappeared

Anyhow where does everyone go for the winter? say Oct - Mar? I fancy keeping on the move, even if it is only every few days and not travelling very far. In the past we rarely went on sites and we'd be happier sticking with that, different kind of camper on sites at least thats what I've always found, not bad, just different to us

Cheers

 

[Deleted member 967]

South!

As far south as we can go! Snowbirds following the sun.

Delayed this year, so we will be off mid to late November. Heading for El Portus near Cartagena in SE Spain. We will start making our way north again in April.

While we are waiting we are planning to do some wild camping on the Northumberland coast in October after a trip to Birmingham and Northamptonshire.

Keep moving as Joan says it gets boring if you stay on a site for any length of time.

John

 

[vwalan]

hi ,you could try driving round the coast from the spanish /french border on the med and carry on right round spain portugal and back across north of spain. we did it last year .caught the ferry to santander then drove to barcelona then caught the santander ferry back end of april. nice journey. of course you could cross over to morocco andspend 3 months there . i hope to be doing it this year. its what i normally do. 6 weeks spain ,3mth maroc ,6weeks spain ,portugal. home.
i find france too cold and too wet now . shame as i do like france, but not in winter.
have fun what ever you chose.
cheers alan.
if you do think about maroc .get a green card from your insurers here before you go .usually its cheaper than buying a the border.

 

[Coolasluck]

As far south as we can go! Snowbirds following the sun.

Delayed this year, so we will be off mid to late November. Heading for El Portus near Cartagena in SE Spain. We will start making our way north again in April.

While we are waiting we are planning to do some wild camping on the Northumberland coast in October after a trip to Birmingham and Northamptonshire.

Keep moving as Joan says it gets boring if you stay on a site for any length of time.

John

John your blog link is broken.

 

[David & Ann]

For the last 11 years I have been leaving the UK on the 2nd of Jan and flying to India, Australia, Thialand, practially anywhere in Asia where it is warm/hot. This year it looks like a no go as the Mrs will be having ler leg in plaster. Maybe, just maybe if the plaster is off by the end of Jan, then we might still hit the Asian weather. I have read a lot about you folks heading to Spain in the British winter, at times I think of doing it but back off as 14 to 16 degrees is still too cool for me. I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to the weather.

 

[vwalan]

you are right .spasin and portugal are too cold thats why many cross to morocco. then expect 18 -24 c not really any more but it does occasionally. at 18c we ar thinking of putting the fire on. it does get cold up the mountains .but it can also get warmer . i once remember sat outside in a campsite at midnight near marakesh and onley wearing shorts and t,shirt. we were playing chess by lamp light. it is getting wetter even there though.
cheers alan

 

[Byronic]

Southern Spain can usually better 14C-16c in the winter but only for a a few hours a day. I have been heading there most winters for the last 20 years, but more often than not end up in Morocco.
I lived for many years in New Zealand and Australia, and since leaving returned several
times to escape the UK winters. Virtually guaranteed good weather of course in Oz, not quite so in NZ.
I note on various m/home forums that a fair number Brits are taking this option, often rental motorhoming, much more expensive than the Spain/Morocco option, and unless you take a couple of stopovers the flight's a real killer.
I have friends who invariably spend their winters in Thailand, they live very well on a limited budget due to the low cost of living, but staying put in an apartment for 4 months doesn't appeal to me, each to their own. So it's off to sunny(hopefully) Spain yet again!

 

[jovik]

Scooter

As far south as we can go! Snowbirds following the sun.

Delayed this year, so we will be off mid to late November. Heading for El Portus near Cartagena in SE Spain. We will start making our way north again in April.

While we are waiting we are planning to do some wild camping on the Northumberland coast in October after a trip to Birmingham and Northamptonshire.

Keep moving as Joan says it gets boring if you stay on a site for any length of time.

John

Hi John, Do you put a scooter on the back of your camper, also what camper have you?

 

[barnybg]

Along with Spain and Maroc,there is also Greece the Peloponese and Turkey near Cypres or even further near the Syrian border,also another but more costly is Tunisia..
At the moment it's 28c in Turkey,usually approx 25c in Bulgaria now ,but it has that wierd cloud and rain of Europe at mo,so dropped to a freezing 15c,should go back up for a month or two,Greece usually 14c to 20c in winter.
This pic was taken two weeks ago at the Agean near Kavala.

 

[vwalan]

you will find tunisia and greece and turkey not as warnm as morocco. in winter. also its getting there and away if you need to dash home. having tried these places i speak from experiance . its a shame egypt is a bit hard to get to as it can be nice in the sinia for winter. but its not just weather its being able to turn tale easily and comfortably . 4-5 days you can be back in uk even from southern maroc , trouble if you go east is getting back through the winter months. but you make your choice . have fun thats the main thing what ever you choose. see you on the road somewhere . cheers alan.

 

[Kontiki]

Although the weather in Spain is usually a bit better than Portugal we prefer Portugal. Last year we did Northern Portugal & had pretty good weather aound March. We found the people there more friendly, felt safer & they mostly have a more relaxed attitude to wildcamping. The exception being the Algarve where some areas seem to be a bit less motorhome friendly, this is probably due to a large number of motorhomes staying put for sometimes months on end. We like yourselves prefer to move on every few days at the most.

 

[southport]

Lots of vans at quartiera Algarve

 

[Deleted member 967]

John your blog link is broken.

Thanks. Now fixed I hope.

John

 

[Deleted member 967]

Hi John, Do you put a scooter on the back of your camper, also what camper have you?

Hi jovik

Thought of putting a motor bike on the back, as the Hymer S700 has a built in carrier which doubles as a rear bumper. Tried and decided it was not going to work. Old bike too big to fit comfortably. Then decided I was getting to old and preferred the warmth and comfort of a car. Joan also drives the car, I don't think she would have driven the old bike (Norton Jubilee).

I have a diesel Smart Fourtwo on a trailer behind instead. Trailer also makes carrying poles for a mast for my radio easier to carry.

John

 

[dolmen]

Thanks for the replies, the UK has lost much of its appeal as I've grown older, there are probably lots of good points, but the weather is my main reason for leaving in the winter.
I like my independance while I'm still fit, so hitting the road again has a certain amount of appeal, has any of our members travelled in the USA? if the weather is so pants even down in Spain, perhaps we'll have to look at the SW USA?

Asia could still be on the cards, as the cost still plays a major part, but finding a suitable property to rent with some land to garden could take some finding? I know many like Thailand, I'll probably need to do much more research.

Please keep your ideas coming, it all helps ...

Cheers

 

[applecore]

I'm just so green with envy reading this.

At my age I have to work work work just to make ends meet and can at most manage a month in France or Spain in June or September.

Happy Trips this Winter

 

[vwalan]

you may be suprised .last winter my partner and i spent 5 months driving around the coast of spain and portugal. being carefull not useing sites and not bringing presents back. we spent about 2,000quid the ferry was 576 more . even a trip to morocco can only add another 1,000 .we are a bit mean ,dont eat out much and dont go into cafe,s etc but it costs as little as that. i know others that do it cheaper but they dont drink. i also know others that spoend that much on a two week holiday. it can be cheaper than staying home .my costs are diesel ,food ,drink, dont smoke so save there.
cheers alan.

 

[David & Ann]

Fo the last 2 years we done Goa in India. Flight to Mumbai and then on to Goa was a total of 10 hrs. A return for 2 adults was £1035. We always go for 3 months. We rent a room in a private family home with an onsuite shower & toilets, have the use of kitchen which we use only for making cups of tea. Rent for our place was Rs250 per day. We have breakfast at Felix's cafe for Rs40. On the beach bar/restuarant ( Benaulim beach) we have our lunch/brunch plus drinks for the whole day 11:00 to 17:00 for Rs250 maximum. Then our evening meal at one of the many Restuarnts in the village/town or also on a beach restuarant, again, Rs250. Multiply all the above by 90 days and you have paid a total of Rs48600. at Rs 75 to the £ (an average) it will cost you £648 for 3 months. Of course you can pay a lot more for hotels, but the average homes, mostly private, are between Rs200 to 300 rental. Temperatures are 27 in Jan rising to 35 in April. Water temp: around 30 degrees.
Hope this helps. If you need more info, give us a shout.

 

[badgerfamily]

This is a fab thread!! Its great to hear how far your money goes and that you are all going away for the winter.

We have just bought our first motorhome and quit our jobs to take our children age 5 around Europe for the next 12 months (maybe 2 years if the money lasts).

Do any of you tow a trailer? I was thinking of towing a box trailer because our starter motorhome is TINY. Its a 4 berth Hymer Camp and there is no storage so I thought a box trailer would be a good idea. Do you think it will be a problem wild camping with a trailer on the back?

Someone mentioned a green card. I was going to take out a regular insurance but am now thinking if I tell them I want to be in Europe for 12 monthis it might cause issues. Any way around this?

Lots of questions.

Toni

 

[vwalan]

hi you dont need a green card for europe .but some insurers dont cover fully comp for you to be out of uk for a long spell. they do have to give you the minimum ins cover for all countries in the eu for all year. becareful taking your vehicle out for over 12 months . you really need to keep it mot and taxed to be legal and thats where the problems start . anyway lots of people have trailers its the only way for the older generation to get round the life style of a traveller. they need medicals at 70. make sure you have a licence to allow a trailer. no problems with a trailer i use a little one .ha ha . well a baby one .
every thing depends on who you insure with though , safeguard ,comfort and saga i believe dont limit your stay . have fun fire away with questions .there are alot of us to answer and confuse you even more . cheers alan.,